N EW YORK

STATE FACTS

the empire state

STATE BIR D
Bluebird

STATE FLOW E R
Rose

STATE TRE E
Sugar Maple

CA PITA L
Albany

P O PULATION
18,976,457 (2000)

STATEHOOD
July 26, 178 8
Rank: 11th

LARGEST CITIE S
New York (8,008,278)
Buffalo (292,648)
Rochester (219,773)

round 1570, the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida,

Onondaga, and Seneca, all of whom lived in the
central part of the present-day state, joined to form the
Iroquois Confederacy. This powerful American Indian
alliance provided support to its British allies as they tried
to gain control of North America from other European
nations. The British originally gained control of the
region by seizing the Dutch colony New Netherlands in
1664. The colony was renamed New York, after the Duke
of York, the British kings brother, and was one of the
THE KODAK BR OW NIE
thirteen original colonies.
In 1888, George Eastman invented
the Brownie, a reasonably priced,
Between 1817 and 1825, the Erie Canal was builtit
point and shoot camera. Today
connected the port of New York City to the Great
the Eastman Kodak Company
remains headquartered in Rochester.
Lakes. This transportation revolution made the state
into a national leader in trade and manufacturing.
The Empire State lives up to its name as a center
DA
of international shipping and finance, a leading
CANA
manufacturer of goods including printed
material and electronic equipment, and a
L a ke O nt a r
leading producer of farm goods such as
Oswego
io
apples, grapes, and potatoes. This state
offers something for everyone with regions
Niagara Falls
Rochester
of breath-taking natural beauty for
Syracuse
Tonawanda
Auburn
outdoor recreation as well as the
Buffalo
cultural and educational
Erie
NEW
La k e
attractions of one of the worlds
Cortland
greatest cities, New York City.
Ithaca

LA ND ARE A
47,214 sq. mi.
(122,284 sq. km.)

Hornell

CLINTON'S DITC H
Governor DeWitt Clintons idea for a
canal across New York state wa s
mockingly called Clintons Ditch. The Erie
Canal eventually ran from the city of Buffalo on
Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson River, thereby
linking the settled eastern seaboard with the
Midwest. The rise of New York City as the
nations leading metropolitan center can be
traced to the canal.

Jamestown

Olean

Corning

Elmira

Binghampton

PE NNSY LVANIA

BU Y ! SELL!
The New York Stock Exchange, the worlds largest market for
trading securities, was founded in 1792 by 24 New York City
merchants and stockbrokers. Today, more than 3,000
companies in the U.S. and abroad are listed and their
stocks are traded on floor of the NYSE.

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(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.

THE BIG APP LE

Upstate New York and eastern Long Island
are home to thriving agricultural economies.
Dairy farms abound in the states river
valleys, and the state is among the nations
top producers of maple syrup and grapes.
Due to the states abundant grape crop,
vineyards that produce fine wines are
plentiful. Meanwhile, each year New York
and Michigan vie for second place (after
Washington state) in the
national production
of apples. New
Yorks apple crop
has generated as
much as $10.7
billion
annually.

Plattsburgh
Potsdam

VER MON T

A DIRONDAC K
MOUNTAINS

M IGHTY FALLS
Located on the river of the same name along the
border between western New York and Ontario,
Canada, the water power of Niagara Falls has
long been harnessed for human use; today two
major hydroelectric power plants operate here.
The beauty of the site has made it a popular
tourist destination.

Utica

YO R K

Schenectady

ALBANY 

M E M O RIAL LIGHTS
On September 11, 2001, more than 3,000 people died
in terrorist attacks that targeted New York City and
Washington, D. C. The massive rescue and recovery
operation, begun immediately after two airliners
crashed into the World Trade Center towers, has
become a symbol of courage and dedication in the face
of tragedy. On the six-month anniversary of the event,
two great columns of light illuminated the night sky,
memorializing the towers and all who died in them.

Troy

MA

Oneonta
C AT S K I L L
MOUNTAINS

H u d s o n R i ve r

Kingston

CT

PIONEERING SUFFRAGETTE
S US A N B . A N T H O N Y

New City
Yonkers

New Rochelle

New York

AN

AT
L

DID YO U K N OW ?

Levittown

The first bank robbery in the U.S.

took place in 1831, at the City
Bank in New York City.

usan Brownell Anthony, teacher, reformer,

and leader in the struggle for the vote and
equal rights for American women, lived most
of her life in upstate New York, primarily in
Rochester. Anthonys work in the temperance
and abolition movements led her to the
womens rights movement of the 1850s.
Although Anthony died in 1906, her body
of work and the organizations she helped to
found played a central role in the 1920
passage of the Nineteenth Amendment,
which granted women the right to vote.

IC

EA

Anthony was arrested for voting in the

1872 presidential election.

23
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.